Kay, Lythia Harpen asked me to write more, and I assumed she was talking about chapter two, so here it is. I know it's a bit short, but at least its something. And do I really have to say that I'm not Derek Landy again? We all know I'm not. Any who, enjoy!
Skulduggery tilted his head and thought about it.
" Well," he said, drawing out the word annoyingly, "I drank water from the fountain of Youth and BOOM! I had my skin back!" He finished dramatically, a smirk playing around the edges of his mouth.
Valkyrie, Fletcher, and Tanith all looked at each other, then back at Skulduggery. Together, they raised a skeptical eyebrow, their faces clearly telling him that they did not believe him. Skul gasped dramatically, and sadly shook his head.
"Your disbelief wounds me, you know. I am mortally hurt by your blatant incredulity!" And as he said this, he unconvincingly held his hand over his heart and fell to the ground, acting as if he were dying. Valkyrie snorted. If it was drama he wanted, drama was what he was going to get.
"Oh, you poor, thing!" She cried out, sounding so real that Fletcher and Tanith looked at her like she was crazy. Inwardly, she laughed maniacally at their reactions. So far, so good. She threw herself at his recumbent form, weeping over his body. At this point, everybody was looking at her. Perfect!
Inside, she was laughing so hard that she had tears streaming down her face. How beneficial to her act!
Continuing, she clutched at his body, trying so hard not to bust out laughing.
"Oh, how cruel we were! To not believe our perpetually truthful Skulduggery Pleasant! Oh, the irony! Please come back to us, my dear, dear friend!" And at this, she fell onto his chest, shoulder shaking to make it look like she was actually crying. She made the gales of laughter sound like loud, inconsolable sobs, and snuck a peek at everyone's reactions. They were staring at her, slack jawed. They believed her performance. Even Skulduggery!
And that was when she lost it. She fell back off Skul's chest, and fell down, laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. That was priceless. Opening her streaming eyes, she looked at them. They were still staring at her in shock, not quite believing what they were watching.
"You… You actually… believed… me…" she gasped out, and that started her laughing all over again.
Tanith looked at Valkyrie and couldn't quite believe it. She had no idea that the younger girl was such a good little actress, and didn't quite know what to do. Really, where did she get her skill? Did she have training?
Skulduggery's thoughts were much like Tanith's. He knew her for so long, and never once did she let on she knew how to act, except for that one time when the Torment had told Skulduggery to kill her. Other than that, she had either done things with overdone drama or sarcasm. He wasn't sure if he liked her new skill, simply for the fact that he'd never know when she was lying or not.
Fletcher just stood there, slack jawed. He wasn't sure if Valkyrie was serious or not. Although, judging by the way she was laughing on the ground, she probably was. But she had been so convincing… Well, he just couldn't be sure. And he was angry at not being sure. So he brought them back to the previous subject… Or at least, he would have if Tanith hadn't spoken first.
"My God, Val! Where on bloody Earth did you learn to act like that?! I want lessons!" She exclaimed, going over and helping the now-gasping girl up. Valkyrie grinned.
"If you wanna learn how to act like that, then you have to start as a 12 year old running around solving magical crimes and saving the world while hiding it from your clueless parents. Or, just run around with Skul. That'll give anyone a certain flair for the dramatics," she answered, grinning like a Cheshire cat. She winked at the person in question, then repeated her question.
"So, are you going to answer me honestly this time, Mr. Pleasant? Or are we going to have a repeat performance?" She looked at him, a slight smirk playing round her mouth and a raised eyebrow to show her almost utter seriousness. She was still too amused to be completely straight faced.